The present invention relates to a fixing holder for fixing an electronic component having wire-shaped leg portions such as an LED (light emitting diode) to a printed circuit board (hereinafter abbreviated as a PCB), and a fixing method utilizing the same.
A PCB is installed in a dipping machine in a state that a multiplicity of electronic components are mounted on the upper portion of the PCB, so that the lower surface thereof soldered.
In general the dipping machine includes guide rails G having U shaped configuration in its section for guiding right and left edges of the PCB as shown in FIG. 1C. The PCB is guided by the guide rails G so as to move therealong and passes through a soldering bath provided on a way of the running path, thereby being subjected to the soldering on its lower surface.
Due to the aforesaid configuration of the dipping machine, an electronic component can not be fixed at the left or right edge of the PCB so as to extend across the edge portion transversely.
In other words, such a component which interferes the passing of the guide rails can not be fixed at the edge portion of the PCB where the guide rail G passes.
In a case where electronic components such as an LED are required to be fixed at the edge portion of such a PCB by all means due to the requirement for the circuit design, only such components are soldered and fixed manually without using the dipping machine.
That is, components other than such particular components are soldered and fixed on the PCB by using the dipping machine and only the particular components are soldered and fixed manually.
The Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. Hei 3-113900 discloses an LED holder. As shown in FIG. 3, such an LED holder is arranged in a manner that first elastic engagement pieces 101d, 102e for provisional fixing are protrusively provided at the lower end thereof, second elastic engagement pieces 101f, 101g for formal fixing are protrusively provided at the one side thereof, and a thin bending portion 101a is provided between the first elastic engagement pieces and the second elastic engagement pieces, whereby after the holder is provisionally fixed on a substrate 103, the holder is bent and fixed at a predetermined position of the substrate.
However, when the LED holder 101 is bent at the bending portion 101a, tension force is applied at leg portions 102a, 102b of the LED 102. Thus, there arises a problem that the dipped or soldered portions at the tip ends of the leg portions 102a, 102b may come off or the leg portions 102a, 102b may be broken at portions thereof.
Further, according to such a holder, the LED 102 can not protrude to the side direction at the near portion of the edge of the PCB, and the LED is fixed at the portion lifted from the PCB 103 by the length l of the elastic engagement pieces 101f, 101g. Thus, the holder is insufficient for the degree of freedom in its design.